This Should Not Be Happening

It was heart wrenching to see a mother plea for medical attention for her sick toddler on the news few nights ago. Apparently her daughter needs $12,500 to be treated in a hospital. She doesn’t have the money and no hospital in the country will admit her. Time and time again we hear of people who went to different emergency rooms across town only to be rejected for lack of insurance or money and shortly after they die.

Anywhere in the world if you kill somebody you are accounted for your crime. Those who die because they are denied medical attention go unnoticed. There needs to be accountability.

Doctors and nurses would help anyone in dire need, but hospitals here will not take any patient that cannot afford its services. This action is totally appalling. The love of money is one thing; allowing greed to take precedence over the life of a citizen is despicable.

Surely something must be done to address this inhumane policy. Treat the patient, and then ask if they can afford it and find a way for them to pay. If they cannot pay, they can do menial work around the hospital until they pay their fees.

All hospitals could come up with a reserve of a million dollars to be used just on such emergency cases, and save the lives of people in an emergency situation. That would minimize their losses. It would be a lot of money, but through donations and public fund-raising events, they can raise the necessary funds.

Doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, could donate their free services once a month for such eventualities on a rotation basis.

I am no expert in this subject, as many of you. We are all very aware of the economic stress Lebanon is having today. However, we cannot just ignore this need any longer. It is not going to go away. How many people must die because of lack of money or enough insurance must suffer? It could easily be any of us, our friends or our families.

In the meantime, we could all create a universal Good Samaritan bank account where anytime we hear of someone in dire need for medical attention, all of us can contribute money. If everyone cooperates with one dollar, five or a thousand, it will be there ready to cover these emergencies. Yes, there would have to be a committee of doctors and hospital staffs to figure out to whom and what cases will use this money. Will it be complicated? Yes, but it is better than doing nothing. You all can come up with viable ideas to help in these cases. Please step forward. We spend our time criticizing the government for not doing this or that, it is time we take matters into our own hands and find solutions to the problems that affect us every day.

Let’s help this poor child in dire need. Let us never see a mother pleading for help to save her child. Let no hospital ever again turn away a person who is severely ill or hurt. I know you all feel the same way about this painful subject. Like me you feel that nothing can be done. But hiding our heads in the sand or ignoring it will not make it go away. I pray that all Lebanese will step up to the plate and voice your concern.